The first Russell T Davies era relaunched Doctor Who and made it a big success. It was the run I grew up with and, to this day, I have an affection and fondness for it. I think the strong quality of the storytelling, with so many unique ideas for defined individual stories, still stands out and is what helped it succeed. With Russell T Davies returning to helm the series I thought it would be a good idea to have a look back at what the highlights of his first era were. Let’s get started!!!
10.) Gridlock (2007) written by Russell T Davies
Gridlock is often underestimated but I think is easily one of the best Doctor Who scripts that Russell T Davies has ever written. It’s basically the third in a trilogy following on from the events of both the End of the World and New Earth. This one is the best of those three stories because of the incredibly dire, yet hopeful feeling which it captures. You have a brilliantly built world and society on New Earth which details well all the failings of the way things have fallen apart and descended in an incredibly tragic way. The ‘mood drugs’ are a powerful and believable idea as something people would turn to in times of desperation. Yet a traffic jam is at the centre of the story. I think it’s clever to use something we are all familiar with (we all know what it’s like to be stuck in an endless traffic jam) and take that to the extreme with it taking years to get from one place to another. The way the people have been abandoned has a fantastic tragedy to it. The characters are strong and believable and the way the people are united but remain complacent through faith and hope is truthfully real. The Macra are worked well into the main plot and the end fate of the Face of Boe and the Doctor’s arc of coming clean to Martha is also focused on with an appropriate sense of weight and tragedy.
9.) Midnight (2008) written by Russell T Davies
Midnight is certainly a very out-of-the-box story in terms of Doctor Who and a very concept-driven episode that moves along in a great manner. What I like most about Midnight is that it takes the basic base under siege blueprint, where the Doctor takes command and inspires a group of ordinary characters in danger, and challenges that very prospect in a simply fantastic and unexpected way. The idea of a creature mimicking and stealing your voice is such a simple concept and yet it’s incredibly eerie and horribly frightening. The story plays upon the accelerating fear factor well and the performances from both Lesley Sharp and David Tennant are terrific. Yet the best part of the story is the way it demonstrates how easily normal and ordinary people can be drawn to do horrible things in dangerous, stressful situations. I like the examination of what that exposes of them as people in their human nature and what it makes of them. It’s one of the most interesting uses of the Tenth Doctor as it takes all his flaws with his arrogance and vanity and uses it against him in a very clever way. It takes all the expectations of a Doctor Who story where the Doctor takes control, stops a threat, and inspires those around him and turns it on its head challengingly and unpredictably. To have the very concepts that Doctor Who is built upon challenged and deconstructed is very rewarding.
8.) Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways (2005) written by Russell T Davies
This truly is one of the best Doctor departures and best pre-regeneration stories there has ever been. It feels like the entirety of Series 1 has been leading to this point. The whole of this series feels so mapped and thought out thematically in a way that makes it a satisfying conclusion. Even if Doctor Who hadn’t been picked up for a second series it would have gone out fantasticlly. I love the concept and the way the story deals with reality TV gone too far which was a very relevant idea for 2005 and even more relevant now. Russell T Davies takes TV of the time, Big Brother, the Weakest Link, What Not to Wear, and justly shows the furthest implications of consumption at the expense of morality. I like the way the story acts as a sequel to the Long Game and shows the dire consequences of the Doctor’s actions and what happens after he leaves. You have an excellent cliff-hanger, and the Daleks end up being a ruthless and formidable menace. I like the Dalek Emperor a lot and the Dalek’s inward hatred of themselves being created out of humanity makes them strangely more dangerous. You have a tremendous performance from Christopher Eccleston that puts him in a well built character-defining conflict, mirroring his decision at the end of the Time War with earth being like his second home. His sacrifice to just save one life, just to save Rose at the end perfectly wraps up his arc and brings his character full circle.
7.) The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (2005) written by Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat’s first story for Doctor Who is certainly one that has become legendary and remembered mainly because of the scare factor in which it holds. I think the WW2 setting works well for the nature of the story. I like how the Empty Child concept takes something so simple, so innocent and so familiar with a child’s simple love and want for their mummy and twists it into something terrifying and strangely perverse. It’s a threat with a motivation we can all understand and feel for which makes for a strong blend of tragedy and threat. The Empty Child is given an amount of power, with its ability to speak through anything with a speaker system, and there are some surprising moments of fright and suspense that are highly memorable. I like the introduction of Captain Jack played by John Barrowman. He has an engaging swagger and confidence about him but also a selfishness and morally dubious quality that makes him interesting and takes him on a good character arc. The comedy of the story is also something I like mainly with the clashing and competitive nature between the Doctor and Jack. Nancy is a terrific character though and I like how the story puts a spotlight on the struggles and shame of being a young mother out of wedlock in the 1940s which is reflective and true of the period. There is a powerful emotional message to the story and the everybody lives ending is brilliantly optimistic and a proper turning point for the series.
6.) The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit (2006) written by Matt Jones
This two-parter is simply a belter of a story and the highlight and best part of Series 2. It takes the base under siege format but does something really interesting with it. You have a solid mystery at the centre of the story. The mystery of being in the orbit of a black hole on this planet, defying the laws of science, nature, and physics creates a well-made central root to the story. You have a likeable set of characters and a build-up of suspense that subtly builds tension effectively across the first episode. This is very nicely integrated with a sense of hopelessness with the Doctor and Rose having lost the Tardis, creating powerful personal stakes. The Ood presents a threat and villain with thematic weight with the servants of humanity turning against them. Yet the power of the idea of the Beast is where the brilliance of the story lies. Not only is Gabriel Woolf’s voice incredibly menacing but the story examines the truth behind religion and the devil and deals with challenging fundamental questions about creation in an intelligent and thought-provoking way. The cleverness is in the way the reality behind who and what the devil is has an ambiguity and mystery where it is left up to interpretation. It toys with and pokes at the characters and audiences’ belief system and what the nature of belief actually is in a captivating way, but it leaves you to come to your own conclusions and leaves you fittingly in the dark.
5.) Turn Left (2008) written by Russell T Davies
There have been some wonderful Doctor Lite stories and Blink is certainly the most well-known and famous, however I think with Catherine Tate at the centre, Turn Left exceeds it. The idea behind Turn Left is just brilliant. The idea of parallel universes has amazing potential especially with a world in which Donna never met the Doctor and I think this story is one of the best uses of the concept. What’s clever is the fact that the Russell T Davies era has built its universe and the modern-day setting so effectively that it has loads of events and invasions to play with. It’s interesting to see alternative versions of previous episodes and the consequences of those stories of what would have happened if the Doctor hadn’t stepped in and helped. It sells the importance of Donna to the Doctor effectively and there is a powerful and dire sense of darkness to the story. It strongly demonstrates the struggle of ordinary people with what Donna and her family are put through and the dehumanising treatment of refugees as it shines an appropriate light on real issues. I especially like the developing hopelessness of Donna’s family and the strain on Donna’s mental health and sense of self-worth, and you have an exceptional performance from Catherine Tate as Donna that puts her at her best with such emotional range. It plays into the darkest instincts of Russell T Davies, and I think Billie Piper returning as Rose, and playing the Doctor role of the story, plays off of Donna as a character very well. It’s an excellently grim story with a very defined concept.
4.) The Waters of Mars (2009) written by Phil Ford and Russell T Davies
Simply a terrific story that takes Doctor Who as a series and the Doctor as a character to untapped territory in an amazing and unpredictable way. The Mars future, with the time period 2059, creates something aptly fairly grounded. You also have a great threat and menace with the Flood which results in an excellent base under siege story with a constant sense of threat as the odds are greatly always against the characters. The nature of the human body being reliant upon water in order to survive and our bodies being made up of it makes the idea of it turning against us, and becoming a threat to us, simply terrifying which is why the Flood is such a scary idea. They are in my opinion one of the best standalone enemies in the modern run. The image of these normal people contaminated with cracked mouths is horrible. Lindsay Duncan is a captivating leading presence as Captain Adelaide Brook and the way the fixed point of the event is handled, is very clever and appropriately paints a picture of what the future is going to look like. The performance from David Tennant as the Doctor is simply astounding as he disregards the laws of time and engrossingly takes them into his own hands and his descent as he snaps is great to witness. I love the unique results of the unexpected direction of his character as it’s the kind of story you can only do once.
3.) Human Nature/The Family of Blood (2007) written by Paul Cornell
This was adapted from a Virgin New Adventures novel Paul Cornell had written that came out in 1995 featuring the Seventh Doctor. I think this was an ideal story to adapt because of how unique and original the concept is. I enjoy the time period and the setting of 1913; the pre-war period adds a lot because the audience is aware of the terror and the horror that is to come, and it bravely and reflectively exposes the immoral nature of young boys being taught to kill and taught it is glorious. It also shines a light on the way classism and racism is an integrated part of that society in an admirably nuanced and honest way. The Doctor hiding and becoming human gives David Tennant a tremendous chance to stretch his wings as an actor playing John Smith. I like the relationship he builds and develops with Joan Redfern played by Jessica Hines which is very believable, and I like the danger it offers. There is a heart-wrenching and wonderful emotion from David Tennant as John Smith as he is faced with having to give up his entire life and existence and deals with the full nature of what he is giving up in a solidly upsetting way. It’s tragic that what makes him who he is, all his values, beliefs and hopes for the future must be given up and you get a fitting heroic sacrifice. The Family of Blood are also a simply excellent group of villains and rightly feel peculiar, twisted, and alien and the Scarecrows strongly takes something very ordinary and makes it a threat. It’s a story that takes a concept and mines everything in its potential to good emotional results, and it gets the best out of David Tennant.
2.) Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (2008) written by Steven Moffat
This is such a well-judged and well-planned story and by far one of my most-watched Doctor Who stories over the years. The setting of an abandoned library encompassing a whole planet is a great idea that has a vastness to it. Yet the story cleverly manages to retain a scare factor and a sense of sinister terror throughout; the setting of an abandoned environment automatically has a scary vibe to it. The Vashta Nerada are easily one of the best standalone Doctor Who villains. They play into childhood fears cleverly as shadows have an unknown nature to them. Seeing spacesuits being stripped only to become skeletons in suits is excellently horrible in its execution and the repeating of the same phrases only pushes and helps elevate the sinister tension and sense of suspense. This is River Song’s first appearance and the best use of her as a character. She plays off David Tennant strongly and the mystery of her is compelling and I like how the story takes advantage of the out-of-order nature of the Doctor’s lifestyle. Yet the revelation behind the hard drive and the little girl with Dr Moon adds a compelling mystery to the story that is organised in a way where the reveal clicks and feels like a satisfying payoff. There are a lot of intricate parts to the story, but it all feels deliberate and is pulled together in a fulfilling way.
1.) Dalek (2005) written by Robert Shearman
Not just my favourite story of the Russell T Davies era but my favourite story of the modern series and one of the best stories of all time in my view. It’s the story that, in my opinion, broke open the modern version of Doctor Who and showed the vast potential of what the revival was capable of. It was a good idea to reintroduce the Daleks by using one Dalek to show the threat they represent. I like the way the story explores the relationship between the Doctor and the Daleks and the long history between them and I enjoy how they are both framed as survivors of war and the last of their race. It presents well-thought-out parallels and similarities between them. You get a fantastic, emotionally fuelled performance from Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor, delving into what the Time War has made him into and exposing the danger of him becoming consumed by anger and rage and becoming more like the Daleks to powerful results. These themes have great depth and meaning to them. The Dalek is effectively made into a relentless creature of killing but expertly is still a creature you feel both mercy and pity for and there is a sympathetic quality to this Dalek. It’s interesting seeing the Dalek’s ideology and philosophy explored when it’s corrupted with human DNA. I like the way the Nazi like nature of the Daleks and what defines the species is explored and the repulsive and dangerous nature of the values of the species is deconstructed through this.
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